Help
by shadow6116
Summary: It's been so long... so full of pain... but then, an angel arrived... Another installment in my Asylum series. Oneshot


"Ariane Handelson? I'm Alexei Asimov."

I smiled and took the blond man's outstretched hand, shaking it. "Hi, Alexei. Call me Ari, everyone does."

We started walking together. "I must admit, I'm surprised you wanted to intern here at Rutledge. With your high grades, I thought you would want to go somewhere of… higher reputation."

"Well, I wanted to immerse myself in more real-world experiences." I said, and it was the truth.

Alexei chuckled. "Well, I'll have to warn you Miss Handelson, that your 'real-world experiences' here are going to be quite dull. But I'll have to admit, there are some patients here that are a bit more… hardcore than the others."

I was about to ask him what he meant when I glanced at one of the cell doors, and I thought I saw something. I went closer and looked through the barred window, and was surprised to see a young teenage boy in the room. His dark hair was long and unkempt, but one could still see his rather handsome face. But I noticed something; there was a strange, sad expression on that face. I felt the need to go in there and comfort the boy.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"That's… Tom Riddle. He's one of those 'hardcore' patients I mentioned."

I was surprised to hear this. "But he's so quiet."

"Trust me. You haven't been here long enough to know him properly." There was an odd look on Alexei's face now, and I wondered what he meant.

"We haven't got all day. Come on, I'll show you your new office."

X

I opened the folder labeled _Tom Riddle_. Alexei had said that I didn't know him properly, so I might as well start learning.

I pulled out some papers and started reading through them. I was shocked to learn that Tom had been admitted into Rutledge at the age of 6 by his father because he had very nearly killed someone. I found his psychological profile and read that psychotic tendencies had been observed in him.

I picked up the folder and a small slip of paper fell out. I picked it up and started reading.

_Strange incidents have been observed happening near patient. In one of the first patient interviews, interviewer's eyes somehow melted. In another incident, numerous objects spontaneously combusted while patient was in a rage. Patient needed to be restrained by multiple staff members before calming down. In yet another incident, a whole room was completely destroyed. CONCLUSION: HANDLE PATIENT WITH EXTREME CAUTION. _

I put the papers down, sinking back into my chair, lost in thought. Tom Riddle was definitely an interesting boy, I could say that.

I got up from my chair. Time to set up a session with a certain Mr. Riddle.

X

It nearly took me three months, but I finally managed to get a session. Alexei had warned me multiple times against this, but I was confident of myself.

I entered the therapy room to find that Tom was already there. I took a chair across from him. "Hello Tom, I'm Dr. Handelson. I'm here to ask you a few questions. How are you?"

Tom did not say anything, and I took note of this. I pressed on. "Alright… So Tom, I'm going to be your psychiatrist from now on, okay?" I smiled.

Tom still didn't say anything. His gaze didn't leave the floor. "Tom, do you mind saying something? Anything?"

He was still silent. I sighed, and could only scribble a few notes down.

X

I still continued to hold sessions with Tom though. I wanted to help him so much. I knew that if I wanted to make any progress, I would have to get him to trust me.

So once again I was sitting across from Tom. "Tom, could you please say something?" I asked.

Again, no response. I sigh, and put my hand on his. I say, "Tom, I want to help you. We all do. But we can't do that if you don't say anything. So say something, please?"

Imagine my surprise when I heard a soft "Okay."

X

"So Tom, you've been here for at least 9 years, correct?" Tom nodded.

"And… it was your father who checked you into Rutledge?"

"Yes." I couldn't help but notice the anger in his face when he said this.

"Okay… so what do you think of Rutledge?"

"I shouldn't be here… this is a place for mad people… I'm not mad… I shouldn't be here…"

"Then… Do you know why your father sent you here?"

"Because I was different… Too different."

I remembered what I had read in his notes. "In what way?"

Tom refused to answer, and I knew he wouldn't if I pressed him. "Well then, do you think that your father sent you here to help you?"

There was no mistaking the rage now. "How would leaving me in here help? I don't belong here! Not then, not now!"

The pitcher of water and the glasses beside it in the room started to shake a bit, but I didn't think it was a good idea to note this aloud. I needed to calm Tom down. "I never said you were mad. I simply said that, in your father's mind, he probably thought that he was doing the right thing. Do you have any idea why he might think this?"

"…Like I said, I'm different."

"Well, do you like being different?"

"…Yes…no…no."

"You said yes. Why?"

"Because…well… if I'm different, then I'm unique, and not like everyone else."

"I see… then why did you say no as well?"

"Because people think I'm weird."

"Different is not a synonym for weird."

"But that's what people think, isn't it? And you can't exactly convince them the opposite…"

"You seem to mind what people say about you."

"Yes, but… who doesn't?"

"Well, it's just that you don't seem to be the type of person who thinks much of other people's opinions."

"I don't, but… it's been hard for me all these years because of that."

"What do you mean?"

Again, Tom looked away when I asked this question. I simply said, "Well then, maybe you should try to be a bit more considerate about other people, but not be afraid to put in your own thoughts when you need to."

Tom smiled. "That sounds good…"

X

After several more sessions, I was confident that if I showed the notes I had taken to my superiors, Tom would be released into the real world, where he belonged. He was completely sane, just not in the right environment.

But while I was organizing my files in my office, I heard an alarm. I rushed out into the hall to see what was going on.

"What's happening?" I asked an orderly who was running away from something.

"There's a fire in the surgery room!"

"WHAT? How did it start?"

"I don't know, but I bet it had something to do with that punk Riddle. He was scheduled to have a lobotomy today."

"WHAT? Why?"

"Hey, kid always had it coming. More dangerous than half of the other nutjobs in this place."

I couldn't bear to hear any more, so I started running. "Where are you going?" The orderly yelled after me, but I ignored him.

I finally reached the surgery room, and to my horror, the door suddenly burst open, and two flaming men fell out. I watched as they died from their burns.

I looked into the room, careful to not get too close. Strangely, the flames seemed to part when I approached. Knowing that I was taking a serious chance, I carefully stepped into the room. I felt no heat from the flames, even though they covered nearly everything.

I slowly approached the boy shaven bald, and sobbing in the corner. I gently picked him up, whispering, "Shh… It's going to be alright… It's going to be alright…"

X

"So what's going to happen to Tom?" I asked Alexei after the horrible incident.

"Before, we were very lenient with him," he murmured. "But this is the last straw. We're putting him under maximum security."

I was shocked and indignant upon hearing this. "But why? He's only a teenager!"

"A _dangerous_ teenager. What happened yesterday was bad. But trust me when I say that he's done far worse in the past. Much, _much _worse. Things that we don't even _want_ to mention on his file."

"But look at my interviews with him. He was making great progress, and I think, with the proper treatment, he can go back to society, safe as you or me!"

To my surprise, Alexei glared at me. "You don't know that much about the world, do you, Handelson? Trust me, this is for the best. For all of us."

I nodded reluctantly, knowing that was what he wanted. But as he walked away, I muttered under my breath, "Yes, but what about Tom himself?"

X

I watched as Tom was thrown into his cell like an animal. As if he wasn't human. I bit my lip and glared at the orderly who had thrown him in, but didn't do anything else. I needed my job, as much as I hated to admit it.

I looked in. I couldn't help but think of the first time I had seen Tom; defeated, as though he had hit the nadir of life. But I knew that wasn't far from the truth. And now… I had heard that he had actually managed to take a step outside before being sedated. To taste hope like that, only for it to be taken away…

I angrily stomped off to my office, but then I heard voices coming from a closed door. I couldn't help but put my ear against it, curious about what was going on.

"…This is the worst yet, the money it'll take to fix all the damage…"

"I agree. This has gone on far too long. The havoc one boy can wreak… but then, he's not exactly normal, is he?"

"Remind me why we can't just call the boy's father and make him take him back, and, oh, I don't know, lock him in the attic?"

"It's Rutledge's policy to not interfere with the patient's outside life, to provide a choice. It was supposed to be that the boy was fixed before he even knew it. But the problem was far worse than we imagined. And besides, it won't look good if we call, and he doesn't take the boy back. If we badger him, he could make a report, and it could go downhill from there."

I felt so incensed at what they were saying. But I continued listening.

"…Well, since worse has come to worse, we'll have to end this problem permanently."

"You're right. I'll get the injections ready."

I heard footsteps coming toward the door, and I quickly ran from it, slowing down when the door opened. Alexei and another doctor came out. Alexei gave me an odd look, but I simply continued on my way.

I knew what I had to do. I needed to get Tom out of here, and fast.

X

I managed to catch up to an orderly, and while I talked to him, I successfully stole his keys. Then, I ran to Tom's cell, knowing that I had to move fast.

I tried each key until I found the right one, and I opened the door. Tom looked up at me blearily. "Doctor Handelson? What…?"

"Shhh. Just follow me, and don't try to break anything, okay?"

He stared at me for a while before reluctantly nodding. I took his hand, locking the door behind me.

I opened the door to the fire exit. I quickly led him down the stairs, hearing his breathing getting more ragged and nervous by the second. The lights started to flicker.

"Please calm down; I'm trying to help you." That didn't seem to help much, as I felt the building start to shake a little.

Finally we reached the bottom floor, and we ran towards the door. I opened the door, and shoved Tom out. He looked back at me, surprised.

"Go. I know you'll be okay. And promise me that you won't hurt anyone else." I smiled.

Tom smiled back, nodded, and I watched as he ran out of sight.

X

Several years later, I was working in my office when the phone rang. I picked it up, and an unfamiliar voice said, "Um…Is this Doctor Handelson?"

"Yes. Is there something you need?"

"Yeah, I'm a friend of your sister, and she told me that she needed you for something."

"Ariele? What did she want?"

"…I don't know. She didn't say. But she did say that you should get over there, as fast as possible."

"…Okay, I'm coming. Tell her I'll be there soon. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," The voice sounded very relieved.

I put on my coat and left Rutledge, driving straight to Ariele's flat.

I knocked on my sister's door. Ariele opened the door, and looked surprised. "Ariane! What are you doing here?"

It was my turn to look confused. "What do you mean? Didn't you need me for something?"

"No… So why are you here?"

"Someone called me, saying that he was a friend of yours."

Suddenly, I got a bad feeling. "Ariele… I need to get back to work. Right now."

"Okay… It was nice seeing you!" She called after me as I ran back to my car.

I drove back to Rutledge as fast as I could, and I stopped.

There was a large crowd of people standing in front of Rutledge. Or what was left of Rutledge. There was only a large pile of rubble in its place, some of it aflame. I saw people pulling bodies out, horribly twisted and mangled.

"What…What happened?" I asked, astonished.

"The building just burst into flames…" One bystander told me. "I never saw anything like it… The fire, it was just so fast…"

As I stared at the remains of my life work, I couldn't help but think that I knew who had done this, and I wondered why he even had…

**Special thanks to Aribh1306, a amazing writer, and an even more amazing person. Check out her fics, user ID 2325531. They're very good.**


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